Pentagon Reports Commercial Location Data Used to Target U.S. Personnel

U.S. Central Command has received multiple threat reports that adversaries used commercially available location data to target or surveil U.S. personnel deployed overseas, according to a letter shared with Reuters by Sen. Ron Wyden.

The disclosure gives lawmakers a new national security argument against the commercial location-data market. Wyden and a bipartisan group of legislators warned the Pentagon that advertising-derived location data can expose where U.S. troops gather, reveal movement patterns, and support missile, drone, roadside-bomb, or counterintelligence targeting.

Location data is commonly collected through smartphones and apps, then sold through brokers and advertising intermediaries. The lawmakers urged the Defense Department to take stronger action, including disabling advertising IDs, restricting location sharing, and moving away from Chrome on some devices.

The Pentagon did not comment to Reuters. The letter marks one of the clearest official acknowledgments that commercial data markets are no longer just a privacy concern; they are becoming part of the battlefield.

Source: Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/pentagon-says-us-military-personnel-are-reportedly-being-targeted-using-location-2026-05-28/